Thankfully, Beth's cheery voice keeps me from adding something sarcastic that might actually hurt the poor girl, and I turn with a smile to greet my dear friend.
“Eddie, so nice of you to drop by again!”
I snort, and after hugging Beth, I chuckle.
“So good to see you again, Bethany! I'm so sorry I couldn't make it sooner, but you know how it is, real life gets in the way.” Her murderous glare at using her full name actually makes me blanch a little, and I have to remind myself that I'm no longer her sub. I should also stay away from her playroom for the next few weeks, because I know she can be slow to forgive. Still, calling me Eddie of all things has to be met with equal nastiness.
Her grin at seeing me go white is as bright as ever, and after a moment it also reaches her eyes.
“I know, I know, busy times when it's been months since you showed up at any of our parties. Or even the Sunday munch. If I didn't know better I'd think you're trying to hide Bella from us!”
Raven is still eavesdropping, although she’s cut her flirtatious stretching to a minimum. Beth isn't happy when she's flirting with the customers, so she only does it behind her back. I have no doubt that Beth knows, but she's a more lenient boss than Mistress.
“Yeah, about that,” I start, then nod towards the café area of the shop.
“Why don't we talk about that over a nice shot of espresso? I'm still uncaffeinated, and cannot be held responsible for anything I say.” Beth snorts but leads the way, leaving me to nod at Raven again and follow her. We're alone as none of the browsing customers have settled down for snacks or drinks yet, and Beth mans the coffee maker herself. I'm sure she wants to spite me when she hands me my coffee with cream, no sugar, but I ignore her smirk. We sit down and both savor the delicious coffee, before she steers the conversation back to the previous topic.
“So my ever persistent employee already told you of the play party?”
“Yup.”
“You coming?”
“As I told her, have to ask the Missus first.”
Beth rolls her eyes at me, but her smile is friendly. “You're so pu**y whipped, you know that?”
I grin at her in answer, but wisely hold my tongue. Beth takes that with a theatrical sigh, but I can see that she clearly approves.
“You know, sometimes I wonder where you'll end up with the balance shift between the two of you. Last time Bella clearly liked having your ass.” Of course the memory makes my c**k stir, but I will my boner away quickly. Beth wouldn't approve, and if anything, I feel the utmost respect towards her.
“I guess she did. Not that I'm protesting.”
Her chuckle is bordering on nasty, and she regards me with mirth filled eyes over the rim of her cup.
“I wonder what you'd do if Bella decides one day that she likes bossing you around more than bending to your will.”
Bending to my will, my ass, since my colossal mess-up Bella hasn't done any bending of any sort that didn't come straight from her heart. As it should be, I have to admit, but sometimes I miss the times when I had to entice her into doing something that clearly scandalized her.
“If she wants it, I'll gladly spend the rest of my days kissing her feet.” Which she wouldn't approve of, because her feet are still a hard limit. I should find out why, as it sometimes peeves me that she doesn't let me suck on her toes when she's fresh out of the shower, but that view usually makes me want to suck on something else.
“Really?” Beth sounds moderately surprised. I nod.
“And what if she decides to never nurture that slight dominant streak of hers?”
“Then I'll gladly have her spend the rest of her life at my feet.” Both scenarios seem equally unlikely to me, and I wouldn't even want Bella to be more submissive than she is now. A little time outside the playroom might be fun sometimes, but the way she was behaving at the beginning made me realize that we both are ill-suited for anything going even vaguely towards 24/7. I like being in control, but I can't take responsibility for both of us.
“What are you thinking that makes you frown like you just bit into a slice of lime? Don't worry, I'm sure Bella'll be always happy to spank you if you just ask her enough.”
I sigh and shake my head, trying to disperse the unease that always grips me at the thought of screwing things up again, this time for good.
“I'm sure she wouldn’t need a lot of persuasion. Speaking of which, I need your help.”
Beth sends me a pointed look because I've evaded her question, but she nods for me to go on. “Sure.”
“As you well know, her birthday's in a month, and I need to get some things without letting her know what I'm up to.”
“Don't worry, I won't rat you out if you're concerned about that.” I laugh at her comment, although I don't fully believe her. I'm happy that after four years of underlying resentment towards the girl who I've always been in love with, Beth has changed her attitude quickly after meeting Bella, but now they've joined ranks against me. The irony of that doesn't escape me, that now my former Domme and current sub are best buds, but at least Bella has someone to talk to. Even if I feel that Beth should be on my side, always.
“I don't think she'd listen to you, my girl likes surprises. Although not much of a surprise there as she'd be terribly disappointed if I didn't make good on my promise.”